Jimmy Kimmel reveals simple test so many Americans just can't pass

A recently aired segment on Jimmy Kimmel Live reveals just how clueless many Americans are when it comes to the rest of the world.

Kimmel sent one of the show's producers out onto the streets of Los Angeles armed with a world map, a pointer and a simple question for passers-by: Name and identify any country on the map.

Not a specific country, mind you. Literally any country whatsoever.

The results are truly shocking: Time and again, everyday Americans faltered at this basic test.

Some at least displayed some degree of geographical knowledge, identifying continents like Africa or Asia before being reminded that those are not, in fact, countries.

"God, who knows stuff like that?" one woman complained when asked to name and identify a single country in Africa.

One guy took a punt at identifying "Greenland or Iceland or something" — only to be told it was the US state of Alaska.

Then there was the cheerful young woman who couldn't even identify America on a map, pointing instead to Russia.

"Can you name any country in Europe?" the producer asked her.

"Is this one Europe?" she asked, pointing to Australia and then Africa.

"Did you go to high school? Did you go to college?" the producer asked.

"Yeah … that's the sad part," she replied with a shrug.

Leave it to one younger participant with an obvious interest in geography to show everyone up, rapidly identifying most countries in South America and a few more across the Asia-Pacific to cheers from the studio audience.

"Well, if you didn't believe that children are our future before, now you do," Kimmel said.